The steep rate of death from stroke in a swath of Southern states often referred to as America's "stroke belt" may be linked to a higher consumption of fried fish in that region, new research suggests.

Severe storms ripped through central Mississippi, bringing further misery to an area already decimated by a line of tornadoes that killed 12 people in April. Tornado watches were posted across southern Louisiana, much of Mississippi and Alabama and into Tennessee as the storms moved east Tuesday.

State Sen. Diane Black's 6th District victory is putting Republicans closer to taking control of Tennessee's congressional delegation.With 24% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Black had 42,751 votes, or 67% of the vote, to Democrat Brett Carter's 18,265, or 29%.

RepublicanBill Haslam overwhelmed Democrat Mike McWherter in the Tennessee governor's race Tuesday as the GOP looked for big victories across the state. Haslam, mayor of Knoxville, will succeed Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, who could not run for re-election because of term limits.